When you're part of a family of superheroes, who gets stuck with the kids?

This is the central question of Brad Bird's long awaited The Incredibles 2.

When the film opens, superheroes are illegal. But a tycoon and his genius sister come up with a plan: gain public support for superheroes through a careful PR campaign focussing on one of The Incredibles.

Parenting: the scariest foe of all

I'm not talking about watching Clark Kent and Superman date Lois on the same night.

No, I'm talking about the grimy realities of the scariest foe imaginable: parenting.

Unless your superpower is literally never needing sleep, odds are superhero parents would be just as stuffed as the rest of us.

Plus, they'd know if they weren't tethered to a screaming, spewing and pooping thing that would up and die without them, they could be saving many lives, rather than just one.

Superhero to house hubby

The first Incredibles film, which came out all the way back in 2004, began by showing just how dynamic Mr Incredible and Elastigirl were as individual heroes.

Here, we see that traditional family roles have become so ingrained that Mr Incredible's first reaction to the pitch is indignation. "Why aren't I the one out there?", his eyes scream silently. "My name is practically the title of the movie!"

But he sucks it up, superhero style, and from there we follow a split narrative. On one track, we have Elastagirl, kitted out and sent off to investigate a conspiracy, all the while winning back the public.

On the other track, we have Bob at home dealing with a baby whose powers make him a ticking time-bomb, and two pre-teens who got a taste of super-heroics in the first film and are jonesing to return to the action.

The narrative that excels is Bob's journey as beleaguered stay-at-home dad, which he bears with increasing grace and exhaustion.

There's a point where he snaps, yelling that he needs to let Helen chase her dreams. He channels his strength inwards and manages to come out all the better for it.

Why not get a babysitter?

My first thought was, "Why don't they just get a babysitter?" Why does Mr Incredible need to stay inside while Elastigirl goes out and fights crime? It's not that she's not good at it — she's, well, incredible — but the first film showed us they're better as a team. As a family.

But sometimes being a team player means playing support. The film shows how being the backup isn't as fun, and can be a real hit to the ego, but can also teach you a lot about yourself.

Besides, when your kid can turn into a demon, teleport, burst into flames and zip around like a nightmarish ping-pong ball, it's probably best that a superhero is babysitting, not a teenager there to earn some pocket money.